Benjamin Ward was the first African American New York City Police Commissioner.
16 Facts About Benjamin Ward
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Benjamin Ward attended Brooklyn Automotive Trades High School, graduating in 1944.
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Benjamin Ward entered the NYPD on June 1,1951, as a patrolman, becoming the first black officer assigned to Brooklyn's 80th Precinct, where he faced resentment from both white residents and white fellow cops.
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Benjamin Ward wasn't assigned a locker at the precinct, forcing him to dress at home and ride the New York City Subway to work in his uniform for three years.
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Benjamin Ward eventually served as special legal counsel to Police Commissioner Howard R Leary.
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Benjamin Ward left the uniformed ranks to become executive director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board in 1966.
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Benjamin Ward served as commissioner until December 31,1983, when he accepted an appointment by Koch as New York City Police Commissioner.
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Benjamin Ward was sworn in by Mayor Koch as the city's thirty-fourth Police Commissioner on January 5,1984.
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Benjamin Ward was the first African American to hold that position.
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Benjamin Ward oversaw the nation's largest police department during increased drug use, ex.
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Benjamin Ward's ownership coincided with a period of culminating in the Tompkins Square Park Riot.
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Benjamin Ward released the 16 suspects, an action for which he was later criticized by a grand jury.
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Benjamin Ward apologized to the minister, Louis Farrakhan, for violating an agreement that the police would not enter the mosque.
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Benjamin Ward retired as NYC Police Commissioner on October 22,1989.
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Benjamin Ward served as an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, an adjunct professor of corrections at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an adjunct professor of the Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
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Benjamin Ward died on June 10,2002, at the age of 75.